Publications

2007
Working Paper

Accountability in Complex Organizations: World Bank Responses to Civil Society

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Steve Herz

Civil society actors have been pushing for greater accountability of the World Bank for at least three decades. This paper outlines the range of accountability mechanisms currently in place at the World Bank along four basic levels: (1) staff, (2) project, (3) policy,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Business and Community Relations; Social Enterprise; Motivation and Incentives

March 2002
Article

Does Civil Society Stop the Downward Spiral of Bad Government or Speed it Up?

By: Arthur C. Brooks

Find at Harvard

March 22, 2016
Article

The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?

By: Christopher Marquis, Michael W. Toffel and Yanhua Zhou

This article is a layman summary of "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," published in Organization Science 27, no. 2 (March–April 2016): 483–504. View Details

Keywords: Reporting; Environmental Performance; Civil Society; Corporate Disclosure; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Civil Society or Community; Environmental Sustainability

2011
Chapter

The World Bank and Democratic Accountability: The Role of Civil Society

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Steve Herz

Keywords: International Finance; Banks and Banking; Civil Society or Community; Governance Compliance; Banking Industry

Article

Private and Civil Society Governors of Mercury Pollution from Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining: A Network Analytic Approach

By: Kristin Sippl

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is both a subsistence livelihood for millions of people and the leading source of mercury pollution globally. The United Nation’s 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury aims to address this challenge, but such public regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Artisanal And Small-scale Mining (ASM); Private Governance; Gold; Mercury; Mining; Governance; Networks; Pollutants; Research

April 2025
Case

Techint: Strategic Choices for Community Impact

By: Lauren Cohen, Virak Prum, Kenneth Charman, Pedro Levindo and Mariana Cal

In early 2024 Erika Bienek, Chief Community Relations Officer at Techint, had to decide whether to invest in a new company-owned and operated technical school in Veracruz, Mexico, or invest instead in strengthening the city’s public education system. Techint, a global... View Details

Keywords: Technical Institutes; Community Relations; Social Impact; Argentina; Mexico; Brazil; Conglomerate; Stakeholder Management; Government And Business; Community Impact; Philanthropy; Business Conglomerates; Business Subsidiaries; Business Headquarters; Family Business; Decision Making; Private Sector; Public Sector; Education; Curriculum and Courses; Middle School Education; Secondary Education; Teaching; Training; Learning; Energy; Engineering; Construction; Values and Beliefs; Geography; Global Range; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Recruitment; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge; Resource Allocation; Industry Clusters; Infrastructure; Family Ownership; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Government Relations; Creativity; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Construction Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Steel Industry; Europe; Italy; Latin America; North and Central America; Mexico; North America; United States; South America; Argentina; Buenos Aires; Brazil

November 2012
Case

Building a Community at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation

By: Christopher Marquis, Zucheng Zhou, Mo Chen and Heng Fan

Over the past decade, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) had developed a unique set of benefits and cultural amenities for its employees, including a beautiful residential campus, known as the Living Quarters (LQ), and an award winning... View Details

Keywords: Culture And Community; Cost vs Benefits; Civil Society or Community; Organizational Culture; Profit; Culture; Compensation and Benefits; Semiconductor Industry

November 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Abuzz: Community Building Community

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Katherine Chen and Michelle Heskett

Keywords: Civil Society or Community; Urban Development

Find at Harvard

06 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

High Hills, Deep Poverty: Explaining Civil War in Nepal

diversity (can people communicate or not?) and caste diversity (how much do some people want to keep away from other people?). About 90 percent of the population in Nepal is Hindu, but within Hindu View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Asian Community Development Corporation: Building Housing and Community

By: Michael Chu and Alexis Lefort

Based in Boston’s Chinatown, the Asian Community Development Corporation’s mission was to build affordable homes, empower families, and strengthen communities. The case examines whether ACDC should continue pursuing all three goals or focus on affordable housing. View Details

Keywords: Housing; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Urban Development; Boston

September 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Community Solutions

By: Brian Trelstad and Tom Quinn

Community Solutions was an anti-homelessness nonprofit founded in 2011 after protagonist Rosanne Haggerty grew frustrated with the limited impact of traditional housing and outreach strategies. It set an ambitious goal, reached in some partner communities, of ending... View Details

Keywords: Change; Change Management; Disruption; Transformation; Communication; Communication Strategy; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Capital Budgeting; Capital Markets; Country; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Housing; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Leading Change; Resource Allocation; Mission and Purpose; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Opportunities; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Human Needs; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Poverty; Welfare; Well-being; System; Equality and Inequality; Consulting Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States; New York (city, NY); Florida; Texas

July 2011
Teaching Note

MindTree: A Community of Communities (TN)

By: David A. Garvin

Teaching Note for 311049. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Management Practices and Processes; Civil Society or Community; Goals and Objectives; Leadership Style; Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry

Article

A Persuasive Peace: Syrian Refugees' Attitudes Towards Compromise and Civil War Termination

By: Kristin Fabbe, Chad Hazlett and Tolga Sınmazdemir

Civilians who have fled violent conflict and settled in neighboring countries are integral to processes of civil war termination. Contingent on their attitudes, they can either back peaceful settlements or support warring groups and continued fighting. Attitudes toward... View Details

Keywords: Refugees; War; Conflict and Resolution; Attitudes; Perspective; Syria

2011
Working Paper

Organizations in the Shadow of Communities

By: Siobhan O'Mahony and Karim R. Lakhani

The concept of a community form is drawn upon in many subfields of organizational theory. Although there is not much convergence on a level of analysis, there is convergence on a mode of action that is increasingly relevant to a knowledge-based economy marked by porous... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Organizational Culture; Civil Society or Community; Boundaries; Information Technology; Theory; Value Creation

18 Apr 2016 - 19 Apr 2016
Other Presentation

Creating Shared Value in Health Care

By: Michael E. Porter

The overall purpose of the conference was to inspire CEOs to become more aware of their public health footprint, how they can improve the sustainability of their products and health of their workforce and their untapped power to influence change and progress in the... View Details

Keywords: Society; Health Care; Community Impact; Shared Value; Value Creation; Organizations; Civil Society or Community; Health Care and Treatment; Business and Community Relations

06 Jun 2009
Conference Presentation

Political and civil turmoil, planning, and new-venture survival in Colombia

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

Keywords: Government and Politics; Civil Society or Community; Business Ventures; Planning; Colombia

2021
Working Paper

The Changing Role of Business in Society

By: Michael E. Porter

Business interaction with the U.S. government, historically based on securing industry or company special interests at the expense of the public good, has enabled and furthered government dysfunction. Gridlock within the American political system has precluded the... View Details